Yes chore is the right word. I initially thought growing out my curls long and going all natural would be less work but it was actually more work with the specific application methods and the amount of different products I used. So I keep it shorter now, in a chin to shoulder length bob and I straighten it alot more than I used to when I was doing strict curly method.
Coach Rehab and Rescue Club
- Thread starter greenpixie
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Here are pics of a bag that I have just finished rehabbing, it is the Chicago Ellis Tote 33961 in Watermelon with light gold hardware. I got the bag for $12.50 at a local charity gift shop and @BeenBurned kindly authenticated it for me. I almost passed on it because the bag was very dirty but the color was so pretty that I decided to give it a try, here are the Before pictures.
Last edited:
Here are the After pics of the Watermelon Chicago Ellis Tote 33961 with light gold hardware that retailed for $298 in 2014-15. It appears this bag was re-released in slightly different styles and several colors but under the same style number.
I found the Ellis Tote 33961 on the Wayback Machine in the Fall 2014 Collection available in black, brown, and teal with silver hardware. This bag has an oval logo on the front and it sold for $298 from Coach.com, see Ad below.
My guess is that the re-release with the came out for Spring/Summer 2015 because I find examples in bright colors like "ruby" and "watermelon" and a very pretty bright green; there is also a "denim" blue bag. Some of these bags have a plain Horse & Carriage Logo. The Watermelon has light gold hardware. I have seen several references to the bag online as the "Chicago Ellis Tote" and comments about buying it at department stores like Macy's, so my guess is that some of the colors were released as Department Store Exclusives but I don't know that for sure. Since I am in Chicago I have been calling it the Chicago Ellis Tote until I learn differently.
The bag was very dirty both inside and out but I loved the color so I decided to try to rehab it. I washed it in the sink with Dawn and scrubbed every inch of it, but after it dried it still looked dirty, especially the handles and the lining so I cycled it through the washing machine with Leather Therapy Laundry Solution and Leather Therapy Laundry Rinse and Dressing.
Next I stuffed it with towels and let it dry and then I conditioned it and used acrylic paint to repair the corners and a few small, damaged areas on the bottom and on the front near the bottom. I was able to clean the handles a little but they still show dark signs of wear. The lining is much improved but I wasn't able to completely eliminate one spot on the bottom. Here she is:
I found the Ellis Tote 33961 on the Wayback Machine in the Fall 2014 Collection available in black, brown, and teal with silver hardware. This bag has an oval logo on the front and it sold for $298 from Coach.com, see Ad below.
My guess is that the re-release with the came out for Spring/Summer 2015 because I find examples in bright colors like "ruby" and "watermelon" and a very pretty bright green; there is also a "denim" blue bag. Some of these bags have a plain Horse & Carriage Logo. The Watermelon has light gold hardware. I have seen several references to the bag online as the "Chicago Ellis Tote" and comments about buying it at department stores like Macy's, so my guess is that some of the colors were released as Department Store Exclusives but I don't know that for sure. Since I am in Chicago I have been calling it the Chicago Ellis Tote until I learn differently.
The bag was very dirty both inside and out but I loved the color so I decided to try to rehab it. I washed it in the sink with Dawn and scrubbed every inch of it, but after it dried it still looked dirty, especially the handles and the lining so I cycled it through the washing machine with Leather Therapy Laundry Solution and Leather Therapy Laundry Rinse and Dressing.
Next I stuffed it with towels and let it dry and then I conditioned it and used acrylic paint to repair the corners and a few small, damaged areas on the bottom and on the front near the bottom. I was able to clean the handles a little but they still show dark signs of wear. The lining is much improved but I wasn't able to completely eliminate one spot on the bottom. Here she is:
Attachments
Last edited:
Still drying inside and I'm not happy with the piping still being a bit dirty...or am I being fussy? Twice dunked as well. When I get the Renapur from Aussie might make a difference. 
But not impossible! I'm absolutely researching rainwater harvesting!
Played with a little something while staying home.
That's a beauty, wow!
Last time I forgot my bag outside overnight. It got rained on all night but I didn't rinse it out again.
I shaped it and let it dry as usual.
I had the same issue with the piping on the red bag I recently rehabbed. I also dunked it twice but can’t get piping 100% clean. Renapur didn’t really help. I guess it’s typical with red bags. Yours is really pretty though and I would still totally use it!
I'm in the Phoenix area, I can relate to hard water too. We have a soft water loop on our plumbing, and even then we get eventual lime scale that we have to get rid of.
I've never heard of the curly girl method. I've always hated my curly hair. The curls never go the right direction. I stopped using shampoo over a year ago because my hair is dry. I didn't realize that was a good thing to do for curly hair. Most of the time I like to straighten it but I only straighten it right after I condition, so not every day. Now that we are in isolation, I'm letting it do what it wants.I have a range of curls and waves from type 3b in the bottom lowest layers to 2a up on the crown and bangs area. For about 4 years I grew my curls out long and adhered strictly to the CG method, but eventually I gave up after not getting the results I'd hoped for. I have low to medium density, so really no matter what I do, I won't have the results I want. So now I keep it short length in a chin to shoulder length bob and layered. I might not always do strict CG approved silicone free products anymore, but I do try to keep other parts of the method like washing less often and reducing heat.
I think the piping might just be a slightly different color than the bag.
I wondered about that...either way I will live with it. OCD me needs to settle down.